McCartney
McCartney is Paul McCartney's debut studio album released after the Beatles' breakup. The album was recorded at the climax of the Beatles' problems; Let it Be released shortly after, even though the rest of the band pressured him not to release it early. A press release for the album confirmed that the Beatles were breaking up: It was April 10, 1970. Linda McCartney provided vocal contributions, but, other than that, the album was recorded entirely by McCartney himself, playing every instrument, in a format that would be "back-to-basics," which the Get Back project was intended to be. Apart for the acclaimed "Maybe I'm Amazed," who ranked high on the charts, the album received mostly negative reviews. Recording McCartney ''was recorded at the climax of the break-up of the Beatles' breakup; December 1969, where he was forced to work in secrecy. He built a robust recording machine with a Studer 4-track recorder and a single microphone in his private home in St. John's Wood. The basic way the album was recorded was reflected in the songs' simple nature. For example, The Lovely Linda was recorded as a test which McCartney would eventually re-record. This, however, never happened. The rest of the album were also simple home recordings. Most of the album was recorded in secret; The rest of the Beatles' did not even know until it was mentioned to George Harrison on March 30, 1970, ten days before the album's fateful press release. McCartney did not trust Apple's Allen Klein. On February 21, 1970, McCartney recorded at EMI Studios under a fake name, Billy Martin, who in the US, was a baseball player. He made new mixes of several songs and recorded Maybe I'm Amazed and Man We Was Lonely. The album was mastered on March 23, 1970. Post-production was speedy, and the album released on April 7. Release Delaying the release date The release of ''McCartney was hectic and hellish. Allen ad the rest of the Beatles tried to delay the album, for it could interfere with Let it Be's sales and Ringo Starr's debut album, Sentimental Journey. The first attempt to delay the album was with Neil Aspinall, who asked McCartney if the album could be delayed by a week to not allow Sentimental Journey to be overtaken by McCartney's album. McCartney agreed, but he found out on March 25 the album was delayed much further, to McCartney's outrage. Furious, McCartney called George Harrison to reinstate the April 17 release date, and he sent a telegram to the other Beatles, Klein, and Aspinall. Even though McCartney felt paranoid that Apple was slipping out of his grasp, the other Beatles felt that releasing three albums at a row by three prominent artists was "commercial madness." Let It Be ''was also set to release March 31, 1970. Lennon then confirmed to EMI that ''McCartney would not release on Paul's intended date. However, Harrison, director of Apple, told the album would be delayed further until June 4 in a letter. Starr decided to personally deliver the letter to McCartney's home, where Starr told him he agreed with the contents. McCartney, however, was infuriated. Ringo Starr retold the experience, which would leave the relationship between the two of them hurt. A desperate and furious McCartney continued to fight for the April 17 release date. Finally, Paul founded his own company under Apple, named McCartney Products Ltd on April 7, 1970. Eventually, the album released April 17, 1970, as McCartney intended. Cover The cover is an image taken by Linda McCartney, which is a bowl of half-empty cherry liquid surrounded by other, smaller cherries on a white bar. The reverse features another of Linda's photographs; McCartney with his newborn daughter, Mary (born August 28, 1969) in his jacket. Chart performance McCartney ''fared well in Britain, where it managed to peak at number 2http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/18538/paul%20mccartney/, only beaten by Simon and Garfunkel's ''Bridge over Troubled Water. '' The 2011 reissue reached number 88.http://zobbel.de/cluk/110625cluk.txt The album did better in the States, spending three weeks at number one and being certified platinum.http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1970/billboard-200 Press release Derek Taylor, Apple's press officer asked McCartney if he were to answer interviews from newspapers. McCartney declined, saying, "I can't deal with the press. I hate all those Beatles questions." Instead, he chose to give a press release, with questions submitted by Taylor. The releases came out on April 9, 1970. The press release can be found below. http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1970.0417.beatles.html Track listing 2011 remaster Personnel *Paul McCartney – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums, piano, organ, percussion, Mellotron, toy xylophone, effects, backing vocals, bow and arrow *Linda McCartney – harmony and backing vocals Covers Front cover= |-|Back cover= |-|Gatefold= References Category:1970 albums Category:McCartney Category:Albums by Paul McCartney Category:Rock albums Category:Albums produced by Paul McCartney Category:Apple Records albums